by Emily Bishop
“He’s good at time management then,” I offered lamely.
“He was always a deeply ambitious individual. Even as a kid, if you can imagine a mini James, bossing his way around until he got what he wanted. From grades, to sports, to girlfriends, that man is a go-getter.”
That didn’t surprise me. James was nothing if not assertive and extremely driven. One of the qualities that I most admired about him—
Wait what? I caught my thought before it spiraled out of control into crazy fantasy territory of us riding off into a happily-ever-after.
As Juanita finished stacking up the pancakes, she came over and set them up in front of me, grabbed a fresh pot of coffee, and poured me a cup of that sweet black drug.
Juanita was efficient.
“Thanks so much,” I said gratefully, grabbing hold of the steaming cup of coffee for dear life.
Juanita waved her hand. She pulled up the chair and sat directly in front of me. “Nonsense, mija. Now to the real question. What are you doing to James?”
Her question completely threw me off, and I almost choked on my coffee. Spurting and coughing, I grabbed the napkin and wiped my lips, collecting myself. Juanita’s piercing gaze never left mine, yet a flicker of a smile tugged at her thin lips.
“Sorry?” I finally asked, collecting myself.
“I’ve never seen him so loose. So open. Not brooding. He was whistling this morning. And let’s just say, the last time I heard him whistle was about five years ago.” Juanita’s blunt words hit me hard.
My heartbeat decided to go into overdrive, and butterflies swirled in my stomach round and round like I was spinning on a carousel.
Don’t blush. Don’t blush. I blushed.
Damn it.
Juanita could see straight through me, because she softened her stance. “I can see the feelings are mutual.”
“What feelings? We’re just…” My voice trailed away awkwardly. We were acquaintances, weren’t we? Acquaintances that happened to explore every inch of each other’s bodies.
Juanita winked.
“I’ve known James since he was a little boy. I used to babysit him and his sister and tended to the Owen household back in New York. After he left, his mother pleaded for me to move to Texas and run his household while he went out and about his business of putting this ranch together. I made a vow to James’s mother to keep an eye on him. So forgive me for being so blunt, but I wanted to make sure this wasn’t a game of some sorts. He told me you were a journalist, and well, let’s just say he’s had some bad encounters with the media.” As Juanita spoke, her words clouded in protectiveness.
It dawned on me that Juanita was a mother-hen-like figure to James. She probably kept him from deviating into asshole territory. There was no messing with mother hends. The meaning behind her words could not be mistaken.
She was vocalizing her support for James, willing to protect him at whatever cost needed.
It made me like her even more. “James told me about the whole wedding fiasco with Bruna. I would never hurt James like that. Ever.” My words were steady and sure, grounded in certainty. Yet my eyes began to water on their own.
Whoa, what was happening to me?
Overcome with emotion, I tore my gaze away from Juanita’s prying ones and instead focused on the garden outside.
When James had told me about his past with Bruna last night, I felt like I had been punched in the gut repeatedly. My heart had tightened at his words, and that familiar rush of sadness from last night resurfaced again.
Juanita seemed to read my mind. She pulled me back to the present with her steady words. “Thank you. That is all I needed to know.”
Nothing else needed to be said. A silent understanding passed between us, threading us together. Juanita knew I was incapable of hurting James. Just the thought of doing so threatened a fresh round of tears.
Our moment was interrupted by the kitchen door swinging open, and in walked the main subject, clad in dark green all-stars, muddy jeans, and a flannel shirt rolled up, revealing those famous taut muscles. James.
He looked so disheveled, so damn hot, that my pussy tightened at the sight of him.
“Did I interrupt something?” he asked, frowning.
Juanita and I collectively stammered, “no” and then we looked at each grinning.
“Well then, princess, it’s time to get your hands dirty and see what this ranch is about.” James said, a smirk playing on his lips.
Two hours later, I was most definitely not ready for this. The bitter winds battered me as I stood there uselessly underneath the beating sun, covered in a day’s worth of grime, mud and hay. The scene in front of me unfolded like a horror show.
James was down in the muddy grass, half kneeling, his face serious as he massaged a snugly cloth-wrapped Ronaldo tenderly. He rubbed his fingers over the little guy’s heart in a desperate bid to save him.
Ronaldo’s mother whimpered. Her tail whipped me hard.
“It’s OK, Nara,” I said soothingly as I stroked her back.
She whipped her head back, as if to say, “You liar,” and let out a pained moo.
“James, I want to help. Tell me what to do,” I demanded. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.
I hadn’t anticipated that a day out in the fields would turn into a cow going into labor. One minute James was plucking hay out of my hair, looking as if he was about to devour me right there in the middle of a herd of cows, and the next, Nara had started straining and pushing in the middle of the fields. James took one look at her and barked for me to come to his side.
Little Ronaldo had progressed through delivery as expected, until he came out not breathing.
James hadn’t wasted a minute then. He had jumped into action mode, while I stood there, dumb-struck, paralyzed on the spot. He had gone through all the motions, from clearing Ronaldo’s airway, to rubbing his flank vigorously.
And now we were here. With a calf in mortal danger and a very distressed mother. “Come here,” James ordered, his voice softening at the edges. I rushed to his side and bent down, tracing my hands over the little guy. He was covered in slime and blood, but he looked utterly peaceful, as if he were sleeping.
James turned his attention briefly to mine, his stormy blue eyes catching me off guard. “We have to try and make him sneeze.” He was so close to me that his minty breath tickled my ear. Instead of squirming away, I leaned in closer. I had no idea what he meant, but this wasn’t a time for stupid questions.
“Ok.” I nodded, resolute.
In one quick movement, James cradled the deathly still calf in his hands and then started rubbing his face in the grass.
Instinct took over me, and I reached over to continue to rub the little guy’s flank.
“Massage the heartbeat, like this.”
I stilled, waiting for James’s further instruction. With one hand, he reached over mine, and I suppressed the tremor building up inside me at his electric touch. James smirked at the corner of my vision before he guided my fingers over Ronaldo’s tiny chest.
“There,” he said, quietly.
It was like grappling in the dark, but at last, I had him.
We continued like that for what felt like eternity, and then—
Ronaldo sneezed!
Sagging into the ground, I was overcome with joy. “Hallelujah! He’s alive!!”
Ronaldo responded by giving out a meek cry, and Nara trotted over to us.
Cows were incredibly intelligent beings, and Nara was no different. Her blank brown eyes stared down at her newborn calf. She mooed, as if she too was elated.
James was grinning now, a split open grin that lit up his entire face and made him look light years younger.
I was taken aback at how vulnerably gorgeous he looked, with disheveled hair, muddy clothes and his eyes—holy moly, I would never be able to get used to those eyes—a swirling storm of sea-blue clouds. James rose up with Ronaldo tucked into his powerful arms and then gesture
d for me to join him.
“We have to put him in the stables, wrapped in a blanket for a while. The first few hours of a calf’s life are the most important. Anything could go wrong.”
I got up from the ground to follow him to the tractor, parked out by an olive tree.
James’s ranch was unlike anything I had ever witnessed. Miles and miles of vast land stretched on, shrouded in olive trees that gave us momentary cool relief during the grueling hours of stacking hay in the merciless sun. The sky was an endless blue here, and I understood why James was so guarded about his ranch.
I felt free here, like nothing could touch me. We were worlds away from the nasties of real life, and I felt safe here, protected.
I had felt like that once, a long time ago, when I spent all my weekends hiking up the Colorado mountains. That same feeling had set me free, but now—
No, Summer. Don’t think about it.
I couldn’t bring myself back to that time, that anxiety my stubborn mind summoned back. That familiar pressure in my chest was accumulating, waiting to explore, but before I allowed the past to consume me, I was brought back by James’s commandeering voice.
“If you want to sit here till sundown, be my guest.”
Ronaldo let out a little cry, and I sprang into action.
“OK, OK, I’m coming.” I broke into a light jog until I reached the tractor.
Grabbing hold of the handles, I hoisted myself up until I was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with James. I shoved down the tingling sensation the mere proximity of James gave me.
Wordlessly, he passed Ronaldo over to me, his movements careful and measured. He was trusting me to keep the little guy safe, and I obliged. I tilted my head down and sniffed at the calf.
Ew.
I scrunched up my face and jerked my head back. He smelled, like, well he had just been stewing inside of Nara’s belly.
James laughed softly. “Wrong move, Summer. But yeah, the little guy needs a bath. Actually, we probably all need one,” he said, almost suggestively, casting me a dark look.
Whoa.
A vision of James and I took hold, showering in his ridiculously massive chamber of a shower, me pressed up against his marble walls as he went down to meet my sweetest spot.
I was trying so hard to keep my heart beat at an acceptable rate, that I almost didn’t notice when James reached down and rested his large hand over mine, clasping it in his.
There goes that spinal shiver again.
I couldn’t help but smile. My hand fit perfectly in his, just like other parts of our bodies.
As if responding to my thoughts, James began to circle his fingers over my knuckles and fingers, creating a fresh wave of pleasure down my back.
Why did that feel so damn good?
I tore my gaze away from the unchanging landscape, to meet his piercing eyes. “Let’s get Ronaldo tucked away first.”
What the actual.
But I didn’t need much imagination to pick up the connotation dancing underneath those syllables. I was going to have him again, all of him, inside me, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.
Ronaldo stirred underneath my arms and then let out a soft wail. James looked down in concern, and the sight made my heart melt.
“Just a little further, buddy,” he murmured.
A nagging thought nudged at me, uninvited, ready to pounce. And then it did, sending my head spinning. I realized there and then, that I was falling for James. And there was nothing I could do about it.
*
Of course, I should have known that nothing was easy when it came to me and James. It seemed like every time we were brought a little closer, an external force came waltzing in to create a wider gap between us.
This time, that force came in the form of Bruna.
She waited for us patiently when James pulled up his tractor in front of the horse stables. He cast her his most reserved stare, freezing hell over.
I ignored the widening knot building up inside my stomach and raised my head in defiance.
I was not going to be intimidated by this woman.
Ronaldo was the priority here. Bruna and her scheming ways could wait.
With one smooth hop, James jumped out of the tractor and then went over to my side, helping me and Ronaldo out of the tractor. His strong arms lifted me up in one smooth movement and then he gently placed me down, almost assertively.
Bruna shrieked out in delight.
“Querido, what do you have there? Awww, it’s a calf.” She attempted to make her way towards us, but James cast her a furious glare that stopped her in her tracks.
She bit her lip, uncertainty flickering across her chocolate brown eyes.
Instead, she decided to fix her eyes upon me.
And then her eyes widened in recognition.
“It’s you again, from the bar! Summer, right?” She flashed me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Hi Bruna,” I said, almost wearily.
“I’ll be just a minute.” James murmured softly to me as he took hold of the little guy from my hands.
I felt cold instantly and fought back a sulk. I had gotten used to the calf’s warmth nestled into me.
Sensing my reaction, James chuckled softly and then bent down and kissed me!
He kissed me right at the corner of my lips in the most sensual, considered way, right in front of Bruna.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get to play with Ronaldo soon enough.” He finished my thoughts for me and then smiled, a genuine smile that warmed up my heart and turned my legs into wobbly chicken feet.
Without giving Bruna a second thought, James walked past Bruna and disappeared into the barn with Ronaldo in tow.
Flabbergasted, Bruna attempted to recover quickly, but not quickly enough.
She was shocked. Rocked to the core. She smoothed back her slick hair and then assessed me. The smile disappeared from her face. “You and James?” She asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
It’s time to lie, Summer. Give it your best shot.
I flashed her a confident smile. “We’re actually engaged.” I confessed, the lie slipping past me. I prayed it was convincing enough.
A long silence ensued. Bruna took this opportunity to scan her eyes up and down me. Then her eyes flickered toward my hands.
My oh so very ringless fingers.
Double fudge.
“No ring then?” she smirked slyly, sniffing at my lie like a hound.
I recovered quickly. “And get his grandmother’s ring lost in the middle of a cow’s belly?” I shook my head, laughing softly. “We’ve come to an agreement not to wear rings when working in the fields together,” I added.
Surprise flickered past Bruna’s features. Her next words came out bitterly. “He gave you his grandmother’s heirloom?”
I nodded in reply, meeting her stare in my own defiance.
Game on.
Finally, she laughed, a cackle that sounded painfully awkward.
“Really? We met at the Barber Shop and you failed to tell me you and James were together? You weren’t wearing a ring then either,” she purred.
“I didn’t know you were the ex at the time. I also wanted to let loose one night and not let everything be about me and my relationship with James,” I replied smoothly. I decided there and then I wasn’t going to address the ring comment any further. I wasn’t a great liar, and Bruna was certainly intuitive.
I returned her stare, determined to show her I was not intimidated.
“Well, well. That I didn’t expect. I’m sure James told you about us…” Bruna’s voice trailed away purposefully.
She was goading me.
“I’m not sure about this ‘us’ you’re referring to Bruna. Considering how, well, you left him at the altar and ran into the arms of another man,” I snapped suddenly, letting the lioness in me roll out.
My nostrils flared, and a snarl built up in my throat.
I halted momentarily to process the onslaught of
emotions gripping me.
I hadn’t realized how utterly pissed off I was at Bruna, until now. An instinct seized me, a strong protective urge to shelter James from this toxic woman.
The puzzle pieces fell into place. James’s damaged, stormy mood swings. His bitter stubbornness, his proclivity to shutting down, and his refusal to let emotion slip out of his carefully arranged features. His cynicism. None of that appeared suddenly out of the blue. The woman standing in front of him was partly to blame, and I was committed to keeping her from fucking him up again.
Bruna’s eyes widened and her jaw slackened.
With perfectly manicured hands, she reached over and fumbled in her expensive-looking bag for something. Procuring some mints, she popped one in her mouth and chewed on it as she mulled over my words, biding her time, for undoubtedly, the perfect come-back.
“Of course he would have told you about all that.” Her voice came out measured, as if she had calculated her answer beforehand. Yet when she met my glare, I was shocked to find her eyes glistening in tears.
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I let the silence speak for me.
Taking my non-reply as a good answer, Bruna continued. “I went through so much crap then. Crap I had hidden from James. That person wasn’t me. I just want James to understand that.”
I folded my arms, my guard softening at the sight of her unravelling in my presence.
I cleared my throat. “Look, Bruna, whatever happened between you two is none of my business. My only business is with this situation.” I waved my hand in front of her dramatically, adding, “We’re happy now. James has made himself very clear that he doesn’t want to talk to you. And you not only disrespect his wishes, but you’ve resorted to threatening his ranch to get his attention. That doesn’t sit right with me at all. And it makes this little interaction my business.”
Bruna opened her mouth like a goldfish to speak and then closed it again, dumbstruck into silence.
Encouraged, I pushed on. “Look, I suggest you leave. As you can see, me and James are about to get married next month, we love each other, and he’s moved on.” Bruna shook her head resolutely at those words. Her tears froze in place as she met my gaze in insolence.
